


Neville's Garden

by socialgraceful



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 13:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8754640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socialgraceful/pseuds/socialgraceful
Summary: Nevill wants to do something for Hannah once he finds out about her mother.





	

Neville’s Garden

They all knew what had happened. Harry knew first, seeing Professor McGonagall through the window of the greenhouse, walking grim faced and determined towards their class. She spoke to Professor Sprout first before asking for Hannah and then they asked for Hannah. They watched and stared at the interaction between the three as McGonagall spoke to Hannah. It started with a wincing of her face and then it collapsed in on itself as she began to cry and sob hard. She fell to her knees and Professor Sprout kneeled to wrap her arms around the young woman. Professor McGonagall led her back to the school, while Professor Sprout snapped at them to get back to work.  
Hannah packed her trunk alone, dropping items through her tears and frustration. When she was finished, she took one look at the room, gripped the handle of her trunk and left the dormitory. She wanted more than anything for someone to come and walk beside her in this moment. Professor McGonagall was waiting for her. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. Hannah nodded at her and they started walking. 

Neville was happy as he bounced along the hallway. Through the windows of the castle he could see that the sun was shining. He couldn’t wait to check in on the seedlings he planted. He had his pail full of gardening tools. He did everything by hand as Professor Sprout taught him. Magic could never compare to the feel of the dirt under your hands. He would never admit this to anyone, maybe Luna, out of fear of being made fun of. But he was happy that he had finally found something that he was good at.  
At this time, the halls were usually empty, so he was surprised to see Hannah pulling her trunk accompanied by Professor McGonagall. He spoke before thinking.  
“Profess, Hannah, what’s going on?” he said.  
“Mr. Longbottom, if you would excuse us,” McGonagall said.  
But Hannah had other ideas. It might have been the sound of a companion voice or the appearance of a fellow member of the D.A. but she dropped the handle of her trunk and wrapped her arms around his neck. Neville didn’t know what to do, so he stood with his arms out to his sides.  
“I... um...” Neville said.  
“Professor McGonagall, could Neville take me to Hogsmeade?” Hannah asked in a small voice.  
“Mr. Longbottom, if you wouldn’t-“ McGonagall started to say.  
“I don’t mind at all,” Neville said.  
He stooped down and took the trunk from Hannah. McGonagall watched them walk away in silence. She had always liked Neville. Had been highly frustrated by him at times, but liked him nonetheless.  
As they made their way onto the grounds, Neville glance at Hannah who still had tears sliding down her cheeks.  
“Hannah, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s wrong?” Neville asked.  
Hannah started crying harder again. It took her a while to answer, sobbing and hiccuping before she did so. Neville wanted to put her arm around her but he would bump her with his bucket if he did.  
“It’s okay you don’t have to-“ he started to say.  
“My mother was killed last night by the Death Eaters,” Hannah said.  
To hell with the bucket, he thought as he threw his arm around her. She started to sob into his shoulder. Filch started moving towards them and Neville glared at him. Filch, having never seen a look that fierce on Neville’s face moved away from them.  
When they passed through the gates, Neville finally found something to say.  
“I kind of know how you feel,” he said softly.  
“How?” she asked.  
“You know how I live with my grandmother?”  
“Yeah?”  
“It’s because my parents were tortured into insanity by the Death Eaters.”  
“Oh my god, Neville.”  
“So, um... the way that I deal with it is to think about the way that I can help people who are still alive and care for them. So I don’t know if that’ll help but... I just thought.”  
They fell into silence again and soon Neville had brought Hannah to Hogsmeade. A sad looking man stood there waiting for her.  
“Hannah,” he said and embraced her.  
After a long hug, he stood in front of Neville and presented his hand.  
“And you are?” he asked.  
“Longbottom, sir, Neville Longbottom,” Neville said and shook his hand twice and let it go.  
“Thank you for escorting my daughter to the village.”  
“No problem at all, sir.”  
The Abbotts looked at Neville as they took hands. Hannah was holding her father’s hand while he held the trunk with his other. With her free hand, she gave Neville and by extension Hogwarts one last little wave. Then they were gone with a crack. 

“Where’s Neville?” Ron asked as they sat down to lunch.  
“I don’t know, Won-Won,” Lavender said.  
Harry, as he always did when Lavender said something like that, thought about jamming his fork into his jugular veins.  
“Hermione,” Ron said as she walked by. “Have you seen, Neville?”  
Hermione stuck her nose in the air and kept walking.  
“Thanks, you’re loads of help,” Ron grumbled.

Neville hadn’t done anything for a long time. He was sitting turning a packet of seeds in his hands over and over. Sitting on a rock overlooking his garden.  
He hadn’t returned to Hogwarts immediately. Instead, he had gone to the gardening store. He had wandered around lost in his own thoughts for a while. Eventually, he picked up several packets of flowers. Boring, useless flowers. He didn’t normally buy them, they were too easy and kind of pointless. He liked to grow things that Professor Sprout would find impressive or be useful. But as he bought them all he could think about was Hannah’s face. Her red eyes. The trails of salt down her cheeks. He wanted to do something for her. Anything. He always thought about how in his darkest moments, he would love for someone to reach out to him. Let him know that it would be okay. He hadn’t been able to do that before but he could now.  
He rose off the rock. It was time to get to work.

Weeks passed. Neville laughed and joined in on activities with his friends. He went to class and did his homework. But most of all, he worked on his garden. The blooms were becoming brighter and fuller. It was just about time. The only problem, he realized was that he had never written to Hannah before. He knew her address like most of those in the wizarding world were connected in that way but he had no idea if she was even there anymore. This would also be completely out of left field. What would he even say?  
He had never been that good with words. But there was someone that he had always turned to for help in situations like this. He grabbed his tools and started for the castle.

Hermione sat in her armchair staring at the multiple armed monster across from her. She had cleared her throat several times to get their attention but they hadn’t looked up. She had remained out of sheer frustration and stubbornness as she had been sitting there first. She didn’t notice the furtive glances and smug looks that Lavender was shooting her. She wished that her headphones worked in the castle. At least then she could drown out the noise.  
“Hermione?” Neville said as he walked through the portrait hole.  
“Oh, Neville, hello,” Hermione said.  
“Can I talk to you about something? In private?”  
“Sure.”  
She gave him a quizzical look but put her book away and followed him out of the common room. That finally got Ron’s attention.

“Oh my god, Neville, this place is beautiful!” Hermione said as she was led into the clearing.  
“Thank you.”  
“You did this all by yourself?”  
“Yes.”  
“What spell did you use?”  
“None, I just grew them by hand.”  
“Fantastic.”  
“So, anyway, I need your help.”  
“Hm?”  
“You know how Hannah’s mother was killed?”  
“Yes?”  
“Well, that’s who the flowers are for. Though I was thinking of sending some to gran and giving you and Luna some.”  
“That’s very nice of you but I don’t know how I can help.”  
“I’ve never written to someone whose just had a family member die.”  
“Oh, let me just get some parchment.”

They made their way into the aviary with armfuls of flowers. The owls flew down and they spent a joyful morning giving them the Abbots’ addresses and arranging the flowers in their talons. Then they sent them flying off into the cool morning air. Even Hedwig and Pigwidgeon being pressed into service. Hermione stood with a bouquet in her arms.  
“You’re one of the nicest boys I’ve ever met, Neville,” she said.  
“Thanks, Hermione,” he replied with a smile. “For everything. Not just that for always being there for me.”

The tapping was getting insistent. Hannah rubbed at her eyes. She slept late most days. Through bleary eyes she opened the window. Flashes of orange as bright as fire flew into the window. Soon followed by blues as dark as the oceans. She opened her other window and in came a purple, dark and proud and royal followed by red bright and insistent. Then came yellow like sunlight. White like clouds. Pink like the color that rose in her cheeks. The mass of colors swirled above her, a great ring of rainbow.  
Her father came through the door when he heard her laughing and was allowed to witness this great sight. He sat on the bed holding his daughter, their first smiles in weeks. Finally, a great and beautiful white owl, given the most important task landed in front of her and held out his leg for her to take its parchment. She started reading and smiled deeply to herself as the owls deposited the flowers around her.

**Author's Note:**

> I always wondered how Neville and Hannah got together. This was just my theory.


End file.
